Are Warmer Tanks Better?

[Jflip2002]

Heres my reasoning, stop me if its already been covered (and missed it) or if it just sounds stupid. Well, we all know that corals are animals, sessile as they are, but animals none the less. With many animals, if you cool down their temperature (Lets use baby brine shrimp for example) their metabolism slows down. I would have to imagine, that if the temperatures are warmer, their metabolisms are then in turn are sped up.

My question: Would this hold true with corals? If they are warmer, the corals, along with zooxanthallae would have higher metabolic rates, consuming more waste, elements, and would photosynthesize more rapidly. Does this sound like a legitimate theory? Has it already been established, and Im out of the loop? Or is it just stupid all together? lol.

Thanks.

[dots]

Yes, they are known to grow faster during the warmer summer months.

[Jflip2002]

Has this already been covered, and its not as great of an idea as I thought I came up with? lol.

[Todd March]

Yeah, this has been established. The warmer you keep you temperature, the faster the animal;s metabolisms work, and the faster that they grow. You are right on all accounts...

If you have a chiller, or can afford a little warmer tank without it going even warmer in bad circumstances (summer heat), a little higher temperature (80F-82F) really does speed things up. Some have stated that somewhere around 85F-88F corals tend to start to stress however (though if they routinely experience, say 82F, it's going to be less of a shock than if they rarely go over 78F), so the "sweet spot" is small...

[Jflip2002]

Sweet, thanks fellas. I will turn the controller to 81F this weekend when I get it.

[kaserpick]

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I've heard that corals can exhibit better color with a lower temp (such as 78* F). Is this true? The reasoning was that since the metabolism in the zooxanthallae would slow down, the population density decreases. This would allow for more of the corals color to come out. Again, is this true/does it make sense? Thanks, hope I haven't gone off topic. :)

[Goodwood]

Colors are deeper for me in the summer months around 82-84F.

[ticocuban]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14470720#post14470720 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kaserpick
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I've heard that corals can exhibit better color with a lower temp (such as 78* F). Is this true? The reasoning was that since the metabolism in the zooxanthallae would slow down, the population density decreases. This would allow for more of the corals color to come out. Again, is this true/does it make sense? Thanks, hope I haven't gone off topic. :)

Zooxanthallae are what compose the color of the coral, therefore you need a thriving population (high density) in order to provide the most solid and brightest colors.

[Laddy]

First, my new favorite avatar is Goodwood's. Wow :eek1:

Secondly, in Bornemans book of corals, there's a great passage about tank temps on page 347-348, which covers this topic. It's worth the read.

Thirdly, have you seen Goodwoods avatar? :D

[jbird69]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14471917#post14471917 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Laddy
First, my new favorite avatar is Goodwood's. Wow :eek1:

Secondly, in Bornemans book of corals, there's a great passage about tank temps on page 347-348, which covers this topic. It's worth the read.

Thirdly, have you seen Goodwoods avatar? :D

Yeah! very nice butt...on that fly rod. It'd be fun to reel that in :rollface:

Doesnt the vulnerability for infection increase with temperature? I have understood that a range of 78-80 is ideal for color, growth and health. If growth is your main goal and you want to keep a strong healthy stock, maybe change your bulbs to 10k?

[kaserpick]

I guess that clears that up. :)

[jonrx]

Tank stays around 83/84 all year long and I have some pretty fast growth for most of my SPS. Solid, deep colors also.

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14471871#post14471871 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ticocuban
Zooxanthallae are what compose the color of the coral, therefore you need a thriving population (high density) in order to provide the most solid and brightest colors.

Nope... zooxanthellae can influence the color of a coral a bit, but they're all some shade of brown. So, if you see a color other than something brownish it's either a result of the color of the skeleton or more commonly fluorescing pigments.

[Peter Eichler]

Also, I've been maintaining around 86 for most of the day which drops to a little above 80 over night, for a good portion of the winter. My growth has been quite good, but It's been a long time that my tank hasn't hit at least low 80's on a daily basis.

[graveyardworm]

I just recently decided to bring my temp up to 83. I used to keep it at 79.5. Slowly doing it though. I'm to 81.5 after a couple weeks.

[sfsuphysics]

So what is the temperature gradient say 10 meters below the surface of the water?

I keep my tank at 78°, if it gets too cold (76.5°) then an additional heater pops on.

Tank has never looked better, but then again there are many other reasons that could be the case.

[Peter Eichler]

10 meters down isn't really any different from say 2 or 3 meters. Average temps per month on an Indo-pacific reef are typically low to mid 80's, even at 10 meters.